Normality is overrated
by StressKillsSarcasm
Summary: Quinn Fabray has spent her whole life pretending to be someone she's not and it's slowly killing her, will a certain Diva be able to pull Quinn out of her state of depression and convince her that she's perfect, just the way she is?
1. Chapter 1

Quinn Fabray was normal. From the hour she was born, she was normal. She was stunning to look at, yes, she was also intelligent, focused, witty and polite but nonetheless, she was completely normal. She was the perfect mould for the All-American, head cheerleader extraordinaire, A+ grade student, complete with a smile that would light up a room and a body that would make any Jock stop and stare. She was the girl you see in movies, the pretty one who gets the guy and becomes the most sought after girl in the entire town. In every sense, Quinn lacked any form of unpredictability, shock value or individuality. She was Barbie. No, she was Ms. Perfect Barbie; _the no flaws doll_. These facts alone were more than enough reason for her to become the automatic Teen Queen of small town Lima, ruler of the local High School, upstanding citizen and a strong moral pillar.

At least that's what once crossed the minds of most people upon hearing the name "Quinn Fabray". They would go on to comment on the fact that she's "such a nice girl" or perhaps an incredibly common "she'll go far, brains to burn and looks to kill!" But then Quinn ruined everything. Now she was "That girl who got pregnant" or "The slutty blonde".

Regardless, what never crossed the mind of any being upon hearing the name "Fabray" was "sexually confused teenager with self destructive habits, a boiling rage and an undying love for alternative music." No. None of these were _ever_linked to the Fabray name. It's amazing how wrong people can be.

"Quinnie!" Quinn was immediately shook from her thoughts as she heard her Mother's roar from the downstairs sitting room. She internally screamed. Her Mother was quite obviously drunk, judging by the slur in her words and the tone in which she spoke. "Fan-fucking-tastic," muttered Quinn as she began to make her way out of her room towards her nightmare. Yet another hidden fact behind the blonde beauty's perfect façade, she cursed like a sailor. Upon reaching the door of the sitting room, she inhaled, steadying herself for what she knew was about to come. _**Keep calm, she doesn't mean it.**_The mantra repeated in her mind as she pushed open the door and awaited the inevitable.

"There you are you little slut!" Quinn flinched at the words, though she should be accustomed to it by now. "Mom, please…" She was cut of violently mid sentence. "Please? _Please?_How fucking DARE you say those words to me, as if I haven't given you enough in this life? If it wasn't for you and your carelessness, your Father would be here right now! But _no,_you gave up everything to get under some idiotic little ass. You got yourself pregnant. You disgraced all of us! Get the fuck out of my sight. **NOW."**

Quinn didn't have to be told twice. She turned on her heel and ran out of the room, tears falling from her perfect hazel eyes. The girl made it half way up the stairs before she heard a bottle break and her Mother's anguished cry. _This is all my fault._ As she walked into her room, slamming the door as she entered, she finally let herself drown within her sorrow, her breathing laboured, her hands pulling at her hair and her mind still running, Quinn let herself sob.

"No. This is weak. _I'm_weak." As soon as the thought crossed the blonde's mind she immediately pulled herself up from the ground where she had begun to let her defences crumble. She felt the same familiar heat rise through her veins and pang of hatred flow through her system, tramping into the en suite Quinn was greeted by the image of herself. Her hair had fallen loosely around her face after tugging at it during her fit, her eyes were puffy and tinted red and her cheeks were flushed. "_What sort of pitiful excuse of a human being are you?"_ the mutter echoed around the tiled walls.

Then she saw it. At the edge of the sink lay a small box. Picking it up and turning it over between her hands, Quinn let go of the breath she was unaware she was holding hostage and opened the box to reveal a small blade. A sharpener blade to be precise. Picking it up gently the now calm girl moved over to sit on the closed toilet seat, sitting like that for a moment, just admiring the shining metal. After her admiration was finished, Quinn began to unbutton her jeans, sliding them just over her hips, she ran her hand down until she met an uneven patch of skin and there it was. A collection of over 65 now faded scars, varying in size and visibility. She stared down at the mass of lines. _How did it get this far?_ The blonde didn't let herself dwell on the fact as she finally began her task, pressing down hard on the blade she began to drag it across her already marred skin. A slight whine escaped her lips at the sensation and as she finished the first line, Quinn finally felt serine and relaxed, taking a moment to stare at the blood pooling over her pale skin. She repeated the act. Twice. Three Times. Four times. She lost count after that, all that she was aware of was the blood spilling from the gashes.

Quinn Fabray. Ms. Perfect. Barbie. All those titles were lost and she was left with herself. Quinn Fabray: Worthless.

Fifteen minutes later after much bandaging and disinfectant cream, the hazel eyed beauty found herself curled up within the safe confines of her bed, staring at the posters lining her wall. Thinking of what would await her as she returned to the corridors of McKinley High in the morning. Well, not so much what as _who._She closed her eyes and shed a single tear as an image of a brightly smiling girl graced her thoughts. "She'll never be yours." The words escaped Quinn's lips in a wanting whisper.

The blonde drifted to sleep that night dreaming of dark eyes, full lips and a haunting voice and for the first time all day, Quinn Fabray, broken and defeated, smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**SKIP TO AVOID MY RAMBLINGS: WOW. Thank you all for adding this to your alerts! It means a hell of a lot. I've never really written something like this before, mainly just essays and short fiction pieces so it's nice to know that some people find it worth reading. This chapter isn't too epic or that, I just wanted to give you all a bit more insight into Quinn's mind and her reasoning behind her manner and personality. I also wanted to bring Rachel into the story, not too much but I wanted to get a taste for writing for her. My versions of the characters are slightly altered from the actual "Glee" characters but they still have all the same basic elements, just turned around a ****little. **umbrellaleg **thank you for my first ever review! You the BOMB. Ok, with all of this in mind, stroytime****! Oh, hold up, lyrics are in bold italics! Oh, and no offence meant by the musical insults, I'm just channelling Quinn. That's it!**

_**COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, GET IN! **_

Quinn awoke, slightly startled and very drowsily as the melodic voice of KT Tunstall poured from the speakers of her alarm clock. A single thought flashing through her sleep deprived mind; _it's too early for this shit._Realizing that she didn't have any alternate options other than to drag herself from the depths of her thickly layered quilt, even if it was pretty early, she'd probably arrive to an empty school. _At least I'd get a few minutes to myself. _The blonde slowly began to untangle herself from the sheets that had curled around her body, almost clinging to her, as if asking her to stay with them. _No, that's idiotic, what object or being would want to be wrapped around you. _A burning sensation arose at the back of Quinn's throat as she heard her inner voice chastising her.

_This is going to be a long day._

Finally managing to free herself, Quinn stumbled onto the cold wooden floor of her room. "FUCK!" The word echoed around the room as she put pressure on the leg which she had torn to shreds the previous night. A slight groan escaped her lips as she hobbled towards the bathroom to admire her handy work. The first thing the hazel eyes noticed was the fact that her light blue pyjama bottoms seemed to have a dark stain around her hip area. Quinn mentally kicked herself for forgetting to pick up more gauze at the chemist the other day, she didn't have nearly enough to stop the blood from seeping last night. After briefly storing the task in her brain's "to do" list, the blonde began to slide her pyjama bottoms over her legs, slowly manoeuvring the item of clothing over the sensitive area of her thigh.

Once she had successfully finished and had removed the blood stained gauze, Quinn began to examine the wounds, pulling up the edge of her underwear slightly she caught a sight of the full extent of the damage done. There were 17 new additions in total, the first of which started at the very top of her thigh, a mere scratch. As her eyes moved downward however, the gashes became deeper and more noticeable. A small sigh was the only noise to be heard in the entire room.

_Why are you doing this? It's not like it's fixing anything. I won't make that night disappear, it won't stop you from flinching every time you hear a child cry and it certainty won't make__her__ pay any attention to you, she'll just think you're even more pathetic than you already are. _

_"_Just... SHUT UP!" Quinn growled at her inner voice and shortly after became aware of the fact that she was talking to herself in a blatantly empty room. "How very sane of you, Quinn, very sane indeed. Perhaps you would like a straight jacket to accompany your evident mental breakdown? No? Maybe a nice coat of shiny white paint for your walls?" The blonde smirked in spite of herself. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen, Quinn Fabray, Queen Bee, declared clinically insane. It'd nearly be worth it just to see their faces."

15 minutes after her one sided conversation Quinn was making her way towards her slightly worn Honda Civic car, running her hand over the roof as she went. _God, I love this thing._Sliding into the drivers seat Quinn reached for one of the many CD's which had been abandoned around the vehicle, grasping for anything that looked slightly familiar. A smile ghosted across her lips as she found the perfect album and slid it into the car's CD player.

_**I guess now is a good time to tell the truth**__**  
><strong>__**The pedigree I carry will swallow you**__**  
><strong>__**But I am not what you are**__**  
><strong>__**Flawless in every way**__**  
><strong>__**Birdseye view**__**  
><strong>__**And I'm watching you**__****_

_**Sad, sad sight before the sore, sore eyes and a headache for the weakest of minds**__**  
><strong>__**You got the boys the boys all tongue tied but I know they're wasting their time**__**  
><strong>__**Girl,**__**  
><strong>__**Girl**__****_

_**You can the ghost in my hall**__**  
><strong>__**You can be the smile I don't want**__**  
><strong>__**I'll be the fly on your wall**__**  
><strong>__**You can be the distance in between**__**  
><strong>__**You can be everything I need**__**  
><strong>__**You'll be the girl I don't call**_

The blonde soon found herself roaring along to the lyrics as if her life depended on it, with the music loud enough to split her ears open and the vibrations running through the car floor, this is as close as she got to being happy these days and she welcomed the sensation with open arms. As she pulled into the school parking lot Quinn's prediction was confirmed, it was practically empty, noticing this fact, Quinn chose not to turn down the blaring music, regardless of the fact that the screeching guitars and screaming vocals would be clearly audible to anyone within the area of the car. _It's not like anyone's here_. She reassured herself as she let the song finish.

She couldn't stand the thought of giving her fellow school mates more ammo to push her off the proverbial popularity pyramid. She could practically hear Santana now "Well if it isn't the little Goth, have you not got pictures of Satan to be worshiping while jamming out to Slipknot, whore?"

Even through the disaster that was her pregnancy and all the baggage that had come along with it, Quinn was still respected within the school's grounds, after losing the remainder of her baby weight and getting back in shape she had immediately been reinstated as Cheerio's captain, a title which earned her immunity from and major bullying or insults. Within the walls of McKinley high, she remained HBIC and she took that role very seriously. Quinn was very aware that she had nearly lost it all with one slip up and since then, she had been striving for perfection in every aspect. Perfection was certainly not rocking out to a so called "Emo" band.

A sigh escaped her lips at the realization that she was really just living a lie, day after day. Quinn hated all the stuff people presumed she loved and loved all the stuff they thought she hated. The reality of the situation was that Quinn would much rather be sitting in a corner with headphones on while reading a Shakespearean play or sketching than be sitting in the centre of the cafeteria surrounded by a table full of bitchy girls and disgusting jocks discussing the latest fashion scandal or Justin Bieber video. _UGH_. The girl shivered just thinking of the dreaded singer.

As the song finally came to a close Quinn slid out of the car, locking it as she went. She was still pretty early and the lot seemed pretty deserted. Letting another sigh escape her lips the blonde straightened out her Cherrio's uniform, ensuring that the tracksuit she had opted for instead of the traditional skirt was sitting perfectly, she couldn't risk the short skirt today due to the severity of the cuts lining her leg, the option of covering them with make up was taken away to as the cuts were still too fresh. Building up her defenses and preparing her facade, Quinn began to make her way towards the dull building.

_This is going to be a very long day._

During the entire time in which she was in the lot the blonde had failed to notice the girl sitting a mere few meters away, hidden behind a tree which she was sitting against, her nose in a book until she was rudely interrupted by the unnecessarily loud music, the dark haired girl was just about to charge up to the owner of the vehicle and give them a thorough speaking to about the dangers of noise pollution when the familiar beat of the song caught her ear. "Who in McKinley High has a Clue who on earth that band are?" she muttered to herself as she peered around the tree, she was possibly expecting one of the "Hipster" kids, trying to look cool with their knowledge of a fairly unknown band. What greeted her eyes however, was the last person she would have ever expected.

Quinn Fabray had just stepped out of her small Honda. The dark haired girl's facial expression morphed from curious, to shocked, to intrigued and then to intensely interested. Keeping a steady eye on the girl the Diva noticed that Quinn was not sporting her usual HBIC murderous glare. She looked... _sad_. Broken, even. She wasn't sure why but this sent an uncomfortable chill down her spine. Once Quinn had turned and had walked through the school doors the girl moved swiftly towards the car, sliding a hand across the doors as she went. Inspecting it with a tinge of envy. She had always wanted a Honda Civic. Deciding that it was best to double check that she had not imagined the whole thing, the dark haired girl peered through the window in the hopes of seeing a CD to confirm that Quinn was in fact listening to a completely non-mainstream and non-bieberish band.

Her curiosity peeked again as she saw the CD to confirm her thoughts, it had been abandoned on the passenger seat, upon further inspection and much squinting, the girl noticed even more CD's which she had never expected to belong to the school's Queen Bee. She half expected Kurt to walk in as a womanizer and Brittany to waltz into school with the highest IQ the world had ever seen. Quinn Fabray has a decent taste in music. The world has just been turned upside down.

The girl shook her head slightly and decided it would be a good idea to move before she was caught staring into someone's car. "Stalker" was not another name she wished to be added to her ever growing list of names her school mates referred to her as.

Still pondering as to why Quinn had openly ridiculed some of the bands whose CD's she possessed and declared as "Emo Freaks" infront of her clique, the dark haired girl began to make her way towards the school, tucking her copy of "The taming of the shrew" under her arm as she went.

Rachel Berry was curious and when Rachel Berry was curious, she made it her business to find out exactly what she wanted to know.

This case didn't seem to be an exception to the rule.

**Songs are "Come on, get in" by KT Tunstall and "Jealous minds think alike" by You Me At Six.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Hey! I'm so, so sorry for the delay, I'm hoping it won't happen again. I had personal issues to work through and I haven't gotten much time to write. I'm hoping to update a bit more frequently now. I'm also hoping to write longer chapters. Emphasis on "Hoping"! So, I know a lot of you added this to your favourites and that and it's very much appreciated but if any of you have time to write a review, it would be amazing. I'd love to hear some of your ideas on where the story should go, I have a ruff concept but it changes a lot, so it'd be cool the see some of your views! Thanks again.**

Quinn's previous predictions had been perfectly accurate. It definitely was a very, very long day. As soon as she walked through the doors of McKinley High she had been thrown into a sea of demanding coaches, nagging cheerbitches, sweaty jocks and overpoweringly boring teachers. Not ten minutes after her arrival Quinn had been cornered by Coach Sylvester moaning about routines and regimes, the blonde could barely find the strength to stand through the entire lecture, Sylvester's insults and terrible analogies were pissing her off and tiring her at the same time. Not a good mixture.

Not long after that, Quinn found herself in yet another power struggle with Santana, the Latina was raging about something to do with the fact that Quinn had fucked up everything in the squad when she "Gots her little white ass preggers by the resident hombre puta" and that she was incapable of leading the squad to victory due to her "tobillos gordito". Of course this lead to Quinn having to assert her HBIC self at full capacity, something she hated doing. Preparing herself Quinn inhaled sharply, followed by which she rearranged her features into the most, cold, heartless expression she could create; Quinn presumed it was working due to the flash of fear in the Latina's eyes. The blonde knew there was only one way to ensure that Santana would back off and she also knew that it would most likely cause her to completely hate Quinn. _Don't do it, she was your friend once for Gods-sake! Your BEST friend!_ The thought flashed through Quinn's head as she moved towards the Latina and it almost made her stop. Almost.

The blonde moved directly into Santana's personal bubble, ignoring the crowds that had gathered in the hallway to stop and stare at them, Quinn knew that she couldn't risk Santana taking her captaincy again, that would lead to her being open to ridicule from all of the school, she couldn't do that. She couldn't let herself be nothing. She refused to. _Survival of the fittest_. This in mind Quinn moved even closer to Santana, trying to make sure that no one in the now packed hallway could hear what she was about to say. "Here's the deal, Lopez, you dare mess with me like this again and I will tell this entire school exactly how close you and Brittany are and let's face it, we all know what'll happen when the entire school finds out that a lesbian is in the Cheerio's locker room, don't we ?" The words were hissed into the olive skinned girl's ear.

Pulling back, Quinn caught the other girls eyes. They were painful to look at. Santana looked somewhere between, anxious, hurt, angry, murderous and lost. The Latina gave a stiff nod and turned on her heel, not before she caught another glimpse of those eyes though, this time, it was clear what was going on in Santana's head, hate. Quinn had never received that look from her ex best friend before, then again, she had never stooped so low as to threaten her with her deepest insecurity before. Quinn almost flinched at the glare.

_I really am a bitch. I'm just like all of them._

There was only one way to put it, Quinn felt like absolute shit. Scum.

The blonde snapped out of her thoughts as she remembered the fact that she had a reputation to uphold. Sighing, she looked up at the sea of whispering teens, their gazes split between her and where ever Santana had run off to. The blonde took a sharp intake of breath and then; "MOVE. NOW. BEFORE I MAKE YOU. SHOW'S OVER." Within seconds of her growl the vast majority of the hall had been emptied, noticing this Quinn let her eyes drop to the floor, tears forming in her eyes. Seconds later she stopped herself, one word ringing through her head. Weak.

At this Quinn forced herself to bite back her tears and looked up, preparing her HBIC glare in the process but before she could fully put up her defences, her eyes became glued to the girl who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, looking straight back at her. Quinn imagined the dark haired girl must be sporting the exact same expression as her. Confused, shocked and curious. Realizing that she was gazing at Rachel Berry in a vulnerable fashion Quinn snapped herself out of her trance and finished building her facade.  
>"Berry, what are you looking at?"<p>

Rachel merely tilted her head slightly, keeping her curious expression in tact. She stood like that for a moment, it was probably one of the few occasions on which the brunette didn't seem to feel the need to fill the silence, well, not immediately anyway. Quinn kept her gaze, trying desperately to focus on the situation in hand instead of getting lost in the girl's stunning brown eyes.  
>"Oh, nothing in particular, Quinn, just examining the latest McKinley scandal and wondering how on Earth one manages to chase off an angry Santana Lopez, of course I'm sure you're on par in terms of rage, considering that you were both coached by the charming Ms, Sylvester, yes?"<p>

The first thing that flashed through the blonde's mind was an insult. A meaningless, useless insult. _No. No.__**NO**__. Stop doing this! Be nice for once in your life, stop being a bitch!_

Quinn stood back a little, was she about to have a conversation with Rachel Berry? The Rachel Berry. Sure, she may have softened on the girl a lot, she barely ever insulted her, she didn't threaten her and she was morally against the idea of throwing a slushy at her but she was still Berry. Rachel, who had stolen her boyfriend. Rachel, who constantly was aiming to be the centre of attention. Rachel, who was insanely annoying, Rachel, who was the only person who has really stuck by her during her pregnancy. Rachel, the girl who gave her butterflies in her stomach, Rachel, the most beautiful human being she had ever seen, Rachel, who she had been skilfully avoiding since her realization that she had an insane crush on the girl.

"Quinn? Are you okay? You look rather pale; perhaps you should visit the nurse?" Quinn's mind was in an intense battle. _Be nice, be a bitch, be nice, be a bitch._ The timid tone in the girl's voice was painfully obvious. She was scared. Scared of Quinn. The thought actually did make the blonde feel ill. _The poor girl is terrified of you and she has every reason to be.__You've made her life a living hell, you've made everyone's life a living hell and for what, the sake of your reputation? I can't do this, she cannot be afraid of me, she just can't. _

Quinn shook herself from her thoughts. "No, no. I'm fine, perfectly fine. Erm, thanks."_ Oh, well done Fabray, could you be anymore awkward? You're head Cheerio for the love of God! You're the HBIC and you just said "thanks" to Berry while stumbling over your words and blushing like an idiot? You really are insane. What happens is people hear about this? There's being nice and there's being a tool! _

Rachel looked like Quinn had just slapped her. She was expecting some form of sarcastic, dry insulting remark from the blonde but instead, she had thanked her for her concern. Thanked, her, Rachel Berry, there was definitely something going on with the Cheerio. 

"Well, Ok then, if you're sure, sorry but I'm afraid I have a class to attend, uhm, Goodbye."

Quinn walked away contemplating the conversation that just taken place. She was angry with herself, which was completely understandable. She was nice to Berry for the love of God. She was nice to Berry. Berry. So why was a piece of her insanely happy? Sure, she liked her but she wasn't meant to show it. She was _NEVER_ meant to show it. Imagine what would happen if people realized she had a crush on the school loser? A female, school loser. This was wrong. Wrong and twisted and fucked up. _Pull yourself together, Fabray!_

She needed to clear her head, fast. One thought flashing in her mind. _Cut. _

She had a rule about cutting in school. She didn't. The wounds were too awkward to handle without her kit beside her. She did carry a blade though, just in case. Would she? It seemed so appealing. Just as Quinn turned for the bathroom she heard the shrieking of the bell. A sigh escaped her lips.

_It can wait. Get to class. _


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Re uploading. The font and layout keep fucking up, if the thoughts and the words get messed up, it's not my fault, it's the sites. My Italics keep sticking together.

_Nearly done. One more class. Then you can go home. Home. Yea, because it's so much better than here._

Quinn rolled her eyes at her inner monologue; she was on running on empty. Spending the remainder of her day dragging herself from class to class while contemplating her life was not her idea of an enjoyable time. The only plus to all of this was that she hadn't run in to a certain Diva, _yet_. The blonde was painfully aware that in a few seconds she would be leaving the safe, yet boring confines of her maths class to head off to Glee. Where, no doubt, she would be forced to further acknowledge the presence of Ms. Rachel Berry and yet again be thrown into a sea of emotions upon seeing the Diva's face.

She internally groaned at the thought. After her little conversation with Rachel earlier she couldn't help but feel incredibly vulnerable. Vulnerable was not an emotion that Quinn Fabray liked very much. Vulnerability meant that she was open and _weak_.

_There's that word again._

Quinn had been aware of these feelings for quite sometime now. She supposed the precise moment they came to light was when she had slapped Rachel on prom night, it had all moved so fast, one minute she was staring at her, furious, demonic even and then she heard that crack, the sickening heart wrenching crack and in that split second, it all fell into place.

It had physically pained Quinn to realize that she had just slapped the Diva. She had hurt Rachel. The small eruption of emotions in her head were terrifying, all she cared about for those few milliseconds was making sure the dark haired girl was OK. None of it mattered, the rivalry, the insults, Finn didn't even matter. That was when it dawned on her, Finn had never mattered. Never. The blonde had never found him attractive, never found him appealing, she had never been in love with him and then the Quinn had an epiphany that she was sure would change her entire life.

She wasn't mad because Finn wanted Rachel. She was mad because Rachel wanted Finn.

The rest of a night was a blur. Quinn had apologized to Rachel, they had spoken briefly, the only moment that the blonde could recall in great detail was the one that sent her then newly found emotions into a fit.

Rachel had called her pretty. The prettiest girl she knows. Not only that, Rachel had assured her that she was more than just a pretty face, something no boy had ever said to her. The shear thought of the memory made Quinn's heart jump in her chest. The brunette was so selfless. Quinn had just slapped her and there she was, showering the HBIC with praise.

Since that night Quinn had been through virtual hell and back. She had come to the conclusion that in order for her to truly be able to deal with this, she couldn't continue deliberately hurting Rachel. It would only damage herself too. Quinn had soon stopped all taunts aimed at the Diva and avoided her at all costs, the only time she ever really ran into the brunette was at Glee.

Of course Quinn struggled at times, she had practically heard her heartbreak when Finn went after Rachel again, leaving Quinn behind but it was only after prom that the blonde realized that the really disturbing concept to her was the idea of Rachel in Finn's arm. Or Jessie's for that matter. Or any man. Anybody that wasn't her. It had made Quinn want to run up to Rachel and shake her, try to make her see that none of these boys deserve her, that all they do is play with her.

And who is better for her? You? A teen mom who's treated her like shit for as long as you've known her? She's straight you idiot, even if she could see past all of the rest, she's not a freak like you.

Quinn couldn't count the amount of times that thought had appeared in her head. Then of course, there was _**the**_ night.

The blonde shuddered at the thought. Nationals. The word made her sick to the stomach, the night of the performance, the night of that stupid, idiotic kiss. While most of her fellow Glee club members were mad at Finn for ruining their chances of winning, Quinn was angry at him for far more than that. He had kissed Rachel. Blatantly kissed her and he had thought it was the best idea humanly possible.

Anyone with eyes could see that Rachel hadn't made her mind up. She was a smart girl with a big future ahead of her and Quinn was glad that for once, Rachel was taking that into consideration in regards to her relationship with the Quarterback. Finn's biggest aspiration was to work in a mechanic's shop. Rachel was so much more than that. She was never going to be a Lima Loser like Quinn.

It had killed the blonde to see him kiss her, removing any thoughts the brunette may have had of finally getting rid of the big, hulking, idiot. She had spent the entirety of the trip moping over Rachel, praying that the girl would make the smart decision. Then_he_had to ruin it all.

That kiss had shattered Quinn; she had already been dealing with her Mother's drunken slurs and her own guilt, not to mention her ever growing issues with her sexuality. The blonde was stressed, angry, heartbroken and she felt worthless and then that baboon of a boy had kissed Rachel, in front of a sea of people and all Quinn could think of was the fact that she'd never get an opportunity to do that, she'd never stand in front of a crowd and kiss Rachel, her Rachel. Her gorgeous Rachel, who the blonde would never deserve.

That was the night that Quinn Fabray had truly broken. That was the night that she had went into the En suit of the room she was sharing with all of the Glee girls, while they were all sound asleep. That was the night the had gotten so frustrated while silently crying that she had scratched her arm so much it started to bleed. It was then that the blonde had realized that she felt in control when she made herself bleed. It gave her power over herself.

When her tears had ceased, Quinn looked down on the small scratch on her arm. _IfI'mabletostandhurtingmyself,._With this thought in mind, Quinn let her eyes wander around the En Suit. After a few moments, she zoned in on exactly what she was looking for. On the edge of the bath, there was a razor, her own. She had left it there earlier that day. Reaching over, Quinn soon began to break the case of the object, it took a few minutes but when she finally managed it, as sigh of relief left her lips.

Shaking slightly, the Blonde picked up one of the blades which had fell from the covering, picking it up and turning it over in her hand once. She began to hike up the leg of her pajama shorts, doing the same with her underwear, her eyes met a patch of pale, creamy, untouched skin. She let the blade rest ad far up on her thigh as she could go with her bottoms still on.

Taking a deep breath, Quinn pressed down. A thin line on crimson liquid began to trickle down her skin and her eyes became glazed. For the first time in weeks, she felt calm.

Quinn had been continuing ever since on a daily basis. She was now 3 weeks back at McKinely after her hellish summer and although it was somewhat of a relief that her HBIC title was still intact, she was more stressed than ever. The blonde didn't know what was messing with her mood more, Rachel, her cutting, her frequent lying of her having to pick up her bitchy, perfect cheerleader persona after months of being the one crushed by her Mother instead of her crushing others.

A sharp ringing sound made Quinn jump out of her trance. Standing up and straightening her uniform, the blonde began to slowly walk toward the choir room.

Ugh. Glee. Rachel. Rachel's in glee. Rachel and Finn are in glee. Santana is in Glee. Oh God. What will I do? I've already been nice to her; I can't switch back, can I? I'll just ignore her, simple. What if she thinks I don't like her? Of course she thinks I don't like her! I'm an absolute bitch to her! OK. Keep calm Fabray. You can do this. You've managed for 3 weeks; you can cope for the rest of the year. Why are you doing this? QUIT GLEE! BUT I LOVE GLEE!

_"_OW!_"_

Quinn tumbled backwards, falling onto the cold ground below, hitting her head against the hard floor in the process. Closing her eyes, she let a small groan escape her lips as she felt her leg land at a slightly awkward angle and hissed painfully as she felt an overwhelming stinging sensation which meant only one thing, her cuts had re-opened.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there, are you OK? I am so, so, so sorr-... Quinn?"

The blondes eyes flashed open as she heard the, oh, so familiar melodic voice. "Uh, uhm..." Think Quinn, you bumbling fool! THINK!Quinn finally opened her eyes fully and began to raise her head from the floor, catching the brunette's eyes as she did so. She was met by something that made her heart ache, in all of Quinn's time knowing the tiny Diva, she had never seen her look so on edge and worried. Quinn began to open her mouth, while still partially lying on the floor, she had to make Rachel's happy expression comeback, she couldn't be the cause of that, she just couldn't.

_"_No, no, it's fine, I walked into you, sorry, I was lost in thought, it wasn't your fault, I'm really sorry, are you OK?"

Quinn found the brunettes eyes just in time to see her facial expression change drastically within a split second, the Diva went from looking petrified to being somewhat horrified. Followed by which her eyes darted around the hall, Quinn soon realized that the poor girl must think this is a practical joke or something, the HBIC being nice to her enemy. Rachel's features became even more suspicious and confused when she realized that the corridor was completely empty.

The blonde wasn't sure if it was the mood she was in or the fact that she had just nearly cracked her head open on the school's tiled floor, it may have been a mixture but in that split second Quinn Fabray lost all of her inhibitions and let a chuckle fall past her lips, it wasn't her usual, perfect, ring like laugh, it was actually real. It may have been tainted with a slight edge of disbelief but it was definitely real.

"Don't worry Berry, I'm not going to click my fingers and a sea of jocks will appear with slushies in hand, I may be good but I'm not that good. You're perfectly safe; I swear it, scout's honour, all that jazz. No, wait I wasn't even in the scouts. That really doesn't apply. Erm, OK then, obviously I can't say HBIC's honor because I'm fairly sure that title has fuck all honor attached to it. I would say pinky promise but I'm really not sure I can move right now, so in short, you're depending solely on my word, I'm sure that just fills you with joy and optimism!" Quinn was swaying slightly in her sitting position and her head was throbbing slightly, she was also aware of the fact that she just had a serious case of verbal dihorrea and her words seemed to be slurred and senseless.

"Oh God, Quinn, I think you have a concussion, we should get you to the nurse, righ-"

"No!" Quinn quickly cut the girl off mid sentence. "Please, no, no, no, no. Don't please, I'm fine, I just need to get some water or something, I'm OK, please, no, I can't, please, I'll just go into the toilets, I'll be out of the way there." Even through her nauseated state Quinn had time to remember the cuts on her thigh and the make up covered scars on the top of her arms. Nurses were far too dangerous, if they noticed the blonde's blood loss her life wouldn't be worth living. They'd check for cuts. They'd tell her Mother. Quinn wouldn't survive the night.

Rachel looked slightly stunned by Quinn's declaration, that's a look that seemed to be common in Quinn's presence lately, stunned. _It's__better__than__terrified._She mused.

"Are you sure? I really do think it would be best Quinn, you seem pale and your words are a bit... sloppy, euphemistically speaking, not to mention the fact that you're sitting here, talking to me, casually. I'm fairly sure you wouldn't do that if you were in a healthy state. Then there's your uncharacteristic use of foul language and swaying, the nurse would be best but if you insist at least let me help you to the bathroom." Quinn couldn't help but notice the fact that the brunette had lowered herself down to Quinn; she also couldn't quite ignore the fact that the girl had a very concerned expression.

_"_No, no nurses, I can manage, it's OK, thanks though." Just as the words fell from Quinn's mouth as she tried to haul herself upward, she soon felt herself falling back down, she prepared herself for the thump but was surprised when instead of feeling her ass falling to the floor, she felt to petite yet strong arms wrap around her waste, balancing her. Quinn took a sharp intake of breath. The feeling of the Diva's arms around her was possibly one of the best she had ever known.

"Here's the deal, I'm willing to cooperate, I will not take you to the nurse, if you let me take you to the bathrooms, OK?"

The blonde nodded slightly as she heard Rachel's soothing tone wash over her.

"OK, good, now, I want you to lean your weight on me. No arguments. I'm going to keep my arms around you and if you feel like you're going to fall, try and do so towards me, OK?

Quinn nodded again and let a small thank you leave her lips, positioning herself as Rachel had ordered. For such a tiny girl, the Diva really was strong, she showed no sign of struggling with Quinn leaning against her, even as she slowly began to move herself and the blonde forward towards the bathrooms, keeping a close eye of Quinn's face the entire time, checking to make sure the girl didn't fall asleep or even dare to close her eyes. Rachel however wasn't aware of the fact that the Cheerio had absolutely no intention of falling asleep; the girl was far too preoccupied with the fact that the Diva's body was pressed firmly against her own.

It only took a minute to pull Quinn into the bathroom; she was slowly becoming less dizzy and was becoming far more aware of the throbbing radiating from her thigh and the fact that her wounds weren't properly bandaged, a thought which was increasingly distressing. Entering the bathroom Rachel began to help Quinn lean against the sinks, what the Diva was not expecting however was the Cheerio, in true stubborn Fabray fashion, was trying to pull herself up to sit on the edge of the table top beside the sinks, seeing the girl struggling, Rachel's hand automatically moved to the girls hips without thought, in an attempt to get her up onto the surface. The last thing the Diva was expecting to hear was a strangled cry escape the Cheerio's lips. Rachel pulled back immediately, shocked by the sound.

"Quinn, I'm sorry, are you OK? Wha..." The diva slowly trailed off mid sentence as she caught sight of her hand which had been clean mere seconds ago but was now covered in a dark crimson liquid.

Quinn froze as she noticed why Rachel had stopped short during her sentence. What do I do, what do I say? I don't have any excuse. Why didn't I think this through?

The expression of Rachel's face held three emotions this time, emotions that Quinn could easily decipher. Worry, horror and confusion, three things which should never, ever come together in Rachel Berry. These expressions seemed to only intensify as Rachel looked down at Quinn's red Cheerio's tracksuit; Quinn quickly followed her gaze and noticed the darker patch of fabric which now covered her right thigh.

"Quinn, you're bleeding, what happened? I need to get you a nurse, I don't care what you say, blood loss and a blow to the head are a dangerous mixture." The blonde could barely focus on the words as she realized that the Brunette was swiftly moving towards the door. This couldn't happen, she couldn't be caught, she couldn't.

"RACHEL!" Quinn barely had the word out before Rachel reached the door, quickly stopping her actions as she heard Quinn shouting her name. "Rachel, I am begging you here, please, please, please do not get that nurse. If you do, it will only make things worse, please, just leave me alone to deal with it, I'm fine. It's fine. I can cope, OK?"

Rachel fixed her eyes on Quinn, taking in her speech. The girl didn't have a clue what was going on. On moment Quinn was fine and the next she was hysterically begging her to avoid all nurses and ignore what was happening. How was this even possible? Quinn had fallen on a flat surface with no edges and now she was bleeding rather heavily for no apparent reason. Whatever damage had been done to Quinn had been done previously, it seemed, now the wound was just reopening, that was the only explanation the diva could come up with. She had no idea how Quinn could have received a wound which was bleeding so much in such a peculiar place though. The worst that would happen in Cheerio's was an occasional fall, so the blonde obviously didn't receive it there, Rachel was completely baffled.

Rachel opened her mouth to object but stopped as she locked eyes with the Blonde. Quinn was crying, silently and lightly but she was crying nonetheless. These weren't tears of pain either; the blonde didn't seem to be sore at all anymore. She was terrified. Quinn Fabray was terrified, a look Rachel had never seen on the girl's face. Not during her pregnancy, not during competition. Quinn always seemed to fearless and strong and here she was, pleading with lowly little Rachel Berry and crying. All Rachel could think of doing now was helping the girl and she was sure that getting the nurse would only distress Quinn further; she had to fix this somehow though.

"Quinn, what happened to you?" Rachel kept her voice as timid as possible, closing the bathroom door tightly behind her in the off chance that someone had wandered from class and would be able to hear the conversation.

"I... I... I can't say Rachel. I can't. Please just leave me alone? Please, I swear, I'll be fine. It's just a bad cut. All I need to do is get a plaster." the blonde was obviously begging the brunette now, Quinn couldn't remember the last time she had used this tone of voice, it was soft and scared and everything Quinn HBIC Fabray shouldn't be.

Rachel wanted to question the girl further but it would have to wait, she needed to stop the blonde from losing anymore blood. "Stay here, don't move, I swear, I'm not getting the nurse, I'll be back in a few seconds, just trust me Quinn, I won't do anything that hurts you, OK?"

The Brunette breathed a sigh of relief when the blonde nodded after a few moments of contemplation. Opening the door gently and slipping out, carefully making as little noise as possible so that none of the teachers became aware of the fact that she was missing class.

Quinn's mind went into hyperbole. "Where's she gone? Why are you trusting her? She hates you! She's probably getting the nurse to spite you! What are you going to tell her? People can't know you cut; they'll just think you're a freak all over again. This can't be happening, it can't be,it can't be. Maybe you have time to clear the cuts before she gets back."

The blonde was pulled from her thoughts as she heard the door re open a minute later and was relieved when she saw Rachel enter alone, no nurses in sight. What was new however was the little box that Rachel was carrying with her.

As if the Brunette could read Quinn's mind she quickly began to explain, "It's a first aid kit, they keep spares in the rooms in case of an accident, I got one out of an empty class. Quinn, I need to fix this and I don't think you can do this right now after your fall, I don't know what happened to you but I'm sure whatever accident you had, I'll be able to cope with it, I've taken a first aid course and finished top of the class, now, let me see what has you in this state."

Quinn looked at the girl in disbelief. _Of__course__she's__taken__a__first__aid__course,__she's__Rachel__fucking__Berry._" No, listen Rachel, I'm fine, Mr. Schue is probably wondering where you are, you should get back to class, I'm OK." The blonde tried to force a breezy, uncaring tone into her voice, trying anything to get the diva to leave. She couldn't see her cuts. She'd realize that Quinn was self harming as soon as she did. Quinn knew that people presumed self harmers only cut their arms but Rachel wasn't an idiot, it didn't take a genius to figure out that over 60 scars didn't just appear on a person's thigh.

"Quinn, listen, this isn't a negotiation anymore, you're obviously hurt, I don't know what happened but I am not just leaving here so that you can mistreat this wound, I do not want to put you in a bad position but you have two options, me or the nurse. I'm unsure as to why you're avoiding either option, I know we're not friends, we're far from it but I also know that these last 3 weeks, actually, over the last few months, you've done nothing to hurt me, something which you seemed to have passed on to the other school members, as I have not been bullied in any form since the end of the last school year, so, I am not out to hurt you Quinn, it's actually the opposite, I am trying to help, you are hurt, you're getting paler by the second and you look absolutely horrified. If you're scared of me telling people about this or if you think I'm going to say anything, I'm not, I swear it on my voice, my future Broadway career and my dancing abilities which should prove to you just how serious I am about this."

Quinn stared at the other girl; she was experiencing a plethora of emotions. Rachel's words seemed to have succeeded in their aim, the sincerity in Rachel's voice assured Quinn that the girl had no agenda, Quinn knew that she could tell Rachel that she had injured herself while pole dancing and the brunette wouldn't judge her or tell anyone about it. Rachel was making it very hard for the blonde to be her usual distrusting self. Coming to a decision, Quinn inhaled deeply, preparing herself.

What if she thinks I'm disgusting? What if she thinks I'm insane?

Quinn ran through all the possible outcomes in her head before pushing all rational thought to the back of her head and opening her mouth. "Rachel, I know you've said you won't tell anyone about any of this but I need you to swear that even after you find out what's going on, even if you think you absolutely must tell someone, you can't because even if you think you'll be helping me, you won't be, OK?"

Rachel took in the girl's words, trying to figure out the meaning behind them, she didn't give herself much time though as she noticed that the dark patch of Quinn's red Cheerio's tracksuit had gotten even bigger, she needed to help Quinn, now, whatever that meant. "OK, I swear, will you please let me help now?"

Quinn simply nodded before clenching her eyes shut and bringing herself to her feet, she couldn't see Rachel's face right now. The Blonde slowly began to pull down one end of her tracksuit, exposing her hip bone and a section of her underwear to Rachel before tugging the clothing down far enough so that almost all of the scars on her upper right hip and thigh were on show, though they were slightly blurred by the mass of blood that had come out from the fresh wounds. She turned around so that her thigh was now facing Rachel and heard a gasp escape the Brunette's mouth as she did so.

"Did you... did you... Quinn, you didn't d-did you? Do that, all of that, t-t-to yourself? The brunette sounded pained, she sounded like someone had just told her that she would never sing again. The blonde had never heard Rachel sound so anguished and unsure before and it broke her heart.

Quinn began to open her eyes and became aware of the fact that Rachel was moving towards her now, the blonde couldn't bare to look at the other girl properly yet though so she looked down, seeing the reopened cuts for the first time, they were horrible. Blood continued to leak out of the gashes, her entire thigh was now stained red. The cuts had opened out further. They were dangerously thick.

She was pulled from her scrutinizing as small hands tightened around her waist, moving her back towards the sinks again. Rachel leaned Quinn against the sinks, encouraging her to lean her weight back on them. Quinn was amazed by just how gentle the girl was being, even as she adjusted Quinn's position she slowly let her thumbs sooth over Quinn's clothed waist. The action made the blonde feel considerably calmer.

Rachel slowly stooped down so that she was at eye level with the damage. Quinn had to admit, it if wasn't for the current situation she would have found the position extremely distracting. She almost had to stop herself from letting her free hand that wasn't holding up her tracksuit from curling into the dark curls of Rachel's hair.

"FUCK! OW, OW, OW, OWWWW!" The blonde was soon pulled from any sane thought when she felt pressure being applied to the cuts.

"I'm sorry Quinn, I'm really, really sorry but I have to do this, I need the bleeding to stop to actually see what's going on and it's going to get worse, I need to disinfect these, it's a good thing I didn't leave, these are huge Quinn. Do you know what could happen if one of them got infected? And that's not mentioning how many there are." The blonde noted that the brunette had a frantic tone in her voice, something else she had never heard in the girl before.

Quinn bit her lip as she felt Rachel begin to disinfect the cuts which were now bleeding considerably less, the blonde had to admit, the Diva was doing a far better job than Quinn ever had, the smaller girl was working quickly and with purpose, her lithe hands moving speedily and professionally. Honestly Quinn wasn't sure if she would have been able to deal with it, she had never had cuts re open this much before and they looked far worse than any damage she had ever done to herself, in that moment, the blonde was exceptionally grateful for Rachel's persistence, even if it made her sick to the stomach to realize that someone else knew of her habits, she was almost positive that if Rachel hadn't of been so willing to help, she would be losing blood by the gallon at this very moment.

"Have you ever gotten stitches?" Rachel's voice still held a slightly panicked and concerned tone to it.

"Stitches? Well, once for a gash I got on my knee, but I didn't... well, I wasn't the cause of that one really but for, erm, these, no, never, they've never been this, uhm, notable before, w-why?" Quinn mentally slapped herself for her verbal incapability.

The diva breathed in and let the words tumble from her lips, "Quinn, around 3 of these, are very, very bad, I can put butterfly bandages on the rest and they should heal quickly enough if you keep from moving too much but there's a few that are too awkward and messy, I only have two options, I can stitch them up but it will be, very, very painful and there's a higher risk of them coming out or you can let me get the nur-"

Quinn cut the brunette off as soon as she heard the word, "You, please Rachel, you, I'm begging you, just don't try and take me to a nurse or doctor or anyone that's not you, please."

Rachel looked up to meet the Cheerio's eyes for what seemed like the 100th time, the girl looked petrified again, it was like every time Rachel even thought about mentioning outside help, the blonde was sent in to a tizzy and began to panic, she couldn't stand to see the other girl like that and the brunette's mind was made up as soon as she saw more tears beginning to form in Quinn's eyes, she couldn't make her anymore uncomfortable with the situation than she already was.

"OK, if you're sure, I swear I'll be as gentle as I can, OK? But Quinn, this is going to sting quite a bit, just tell me if it gets too much." Rachel started getting her equipment from the first aid box as soon as Quinn choose her. The Brunette had given up on all hope of Quinn asking to see a professional, in her heart Rachel knew she wouldn't, a scared, humiliated and nervous Quinn Fabray was not a girl who would just lie down and take orders, as much as Rachel wished the girl would pick the easier option of finding a nurse, in the same vain she couldn't help but be in awe of the girl's determination, the Blonde was obviously in pain, she had suffered a fair amount of blood loss, she had been forced to put her trust in a girl who she would probably define as her worst enemy and yet here she was, Quinn Fabray was desperately fighting her emotions and even though the blonde was clearly distressed, she was powering through it all with no complaints.

Rachel lined the now sanitized needle up with the first of Quinn's larger gashes, preparing herself for what she was about to do, if she was this nervous, Rachel couldn't even begin to imagine how the HBIC felt right now. "Right, one, two, three..." Rachel wasn't sure what she was expecting, a scream, a hiss, anything but what she was not expecting was complete silence, the only resistance Quinn showed was the slight flinch that coursed through her body as Rachel tore through the girl's skin for the first time.

Rachel continued her stitching for around 10 minutes, working as neatly and as quickly as she could, glancing up at the blonde every few stitches to make sure that she was still breathing. Rachel couldn't quite believe how well she was coping throughout the process.

When she finally fixed up the last wound she heard a large breath fall from the Blonde's mouth.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. That fucking hurt. I need to get out of here. How am I getting out of here, what am I meant to say to Rachel? "Hey thanks for stitching me up, nice talking to you, now, I gotta go, y'know, places to be, like a mental institution."

"Rachel, are you done? I mean, not that I'm unappreciative or anything but it's just I sort of feel like screaming and I'm not sure if I can avoid that for much longer, not to mention the fact that school will be out in 10 minutes and will probably out searching for us and I'm not sure if I can see his idiotically, smiley, dimpled little face right now and-"

"Quinn, breathe, yes, I'm done, sorry for interrupting you but your face in slowly turning to the shade of a tomato, I feel air can only help you right now and yes, he probably will come searching as soon as class ends and I'm not sure how either of us could get out of this at the minute, so, it's best we avoid him, meaning we need to get out of here now, and by us getting out of here, yes, I mean the two of us, as in plural, as in together because I can already see you formulating plans to shove this under the metaphorical rug and I am telling you now. Fabray, it will not work. You're going to talk to me about this, are we clear? You are going to give me your car keys, we are going to sneak out of here, I will take you back to my house while my dads are away and you will explain what on earth just happened, what it means and why, just why. You're not the only one who sort of feels like screaming."

Quinn nearly fell backwards. Rachel Berry was ordering her around. This was different, the shorter girl looked just about ready to drag Quinn out the door and hook her to a lie detector. _Surely_the Brunette was bound to own one of those. Either way, the blonde was pretty sure that she had no way of protesting this, she owed the Diva at least this much, Quinn couldn't just run from her this time, she was being cornered, _cornered__by__Rachel__fucking__Barbra__Berry_. Quinn didn't know what to think about that fact. She stalled her response for a second, choosing to adjust her Cheerio tracksuit so that it was now sitting properly on her.

You can do this Fabray, keep calm, you just have to talk to her. Rachel. Rachel who just saved your ass, Rachel, the love of your life.

"OK, I can do that, talk, explain things to you, I owe you that, I definitely owe you at least that much."

"Good, I'm glad you agree Quinn." Rachel let a small smile grace her lips, trying to show the still petrified looking girl in front of her that she wasn't going to do anything to hurt her. Well, hurt her any further than she already had to. She then began to turn to the door when she heard timid words fall from the blonde's mouth causing her to spin right back to face the other girl.

"Uhm, Berry... I mean, uh, Rachel?"

Rachel wasn't sure what she was expecting the girl to do, perhaps threaten her, tell her life wouldn't be worth living if she told anyone about this, glare at her, anything really, but then the Blonde did the last the diva expected, she threw her arms around the smaller girl and pulled her in close, she hugged her. Quinn Fabray _hugged_ Rachel Berry.

"I'm so sorry for putting you through this and I can't thank you enough for all of this, I'm so, so, so sorry, Rachel." Quinn practically whispered the words into the shorter girl's ear and then pulled back, looking at her saviour, trying to read her reaction.

"Quinn, never, ever apologize for needing help, especially to me, listen to me, I may not know you that well but I would never wish this on anyone, ever and I swear to you right here, right now, I will be there for you, I will help you, I will. You don't have to go through whatever you're going through alone, I don't care what it is, I will help you cope with it, I don't know how yet but I will. I don't care about the past; I care about the future and what we can make of it."

"I-I-I I don't know what to say, thank you, just, than you, thank you Rachel." The taller girl's voice screamed sincerity and it almost melted the Diva's heart.

"You can thank me when you're better, no arguments, OK?" Rachel reached out and let her hand fall onto Quinn's arm, stroking it lightly, trying to convey just how much she meant it.

Quinn couldn't believe how perfect the Diva was, biting back tears, she realized that if she spoke she might end up sobbing again, so instead, she slowly nodded her head, staring into the beautiful brown of Rachel's eyes.

"C'mon, _Fabray,_we better get out of here before that _Idiotic,__smiley,__dimpled__face_teacher finds us." Rachel let a small smirk fall to her lips and winked at the blonde as she finished the sentence, wrapping her arm around the taller girl in the process and slowly leading her out the door, making sure that the blonde was putting hardly any pressure on her damaged leg.

The blonde couldn't ever recall being treated so delicately in her life and in that moment, something Quinn thought to be physically and mentally impossible happened, she fell even more in love with the small girl beside her and instead of finding despair in that thought, for the second time that day, Quinn laughed, she genuinely laughed and what made it even better was the fact that the Diva joined in, her perfect chuckle floating through Quinn's ears.

Maybe it's not all bad, Fabray_._She found herself glancing at the girl beside her for what felt like the 1000th time today. Maybe it's no t all bad, at all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: Ok I know, I suck but so does life and its meddling ways. Sorry. Reaaaally sorry. **

Quinn and Rachel were finally pulling out of the school parking lot after a brief argument about who got to drive the blonde's car, Rachel stating that Quinn was incapable of doing so due to her injuries, Quinn stating that she couldn't care less, it was her damn car. The latter finally caved after a patented Berry pout was thrown her way.

A few minutes passed while Rachel drove through Lima towards her house, somewhere Quinn had never been, the two sat in perfect silence, neither of them particularly wanted to start the conversation. When it got to the stage that the silence was nearly suffocating Quinn, she began to search through the CDs strewn across the car, looking for something that would make her seem semi normal. Truth be told, the girl was already weary that the brunette would notice some of the CDs she kept in there, Quinn guessed that Rachel would hate 90% of the music she listened to, the only comforting thing the girl found from this was the fact that Rachel was far too nice to mock her for her music taste or start insulting her.

_C'mon Fabray, you have to have some sort of decent CD in here__**.**_ Quinn was becoming annoyed with her search, picking up one disc and throwing it away again after deeming it to be unacceptable.

"Are you aware that the manner in which you organize your CD collection is somewhat atrocious?" Rachel piped up, her voice had a taunting tone to it, she turned her head from the road for a split second to catch the blonde's eyes and throw a smirk in her direction.

_Oh my dear lord, she's perfect. _Quinn shook her head slightly, knocking the image of the other girl smirking from her head, well, more pushing it back and saving it for another time.

"Are you aware that you're somewhat of a smartass? And I'll have you know that my organisational skills are top notch, hell, they're pretty much revolutionary, give it a few years, everyone will have their CDs like this, I'm just getting in there early."

The blonde let a smug smile fall to her lips. _I can be a smartass too, Berry._

"Hmmm, that's a little bit doubtful but because I'm a nice person and I take pity on you and your delusional thought pattern, I'm going to pick out a CD to save you from searching through the mountain of revolutionary organisation that you call a CD collection, OK? Good girl, put this on." Rachel picked up a disk from the dashboard and threw it on to Quinn's lap, still smirking and using her smartass tone.

Quinn smiled slightly. _Good girl? Damn, she's got skill. _Her smile faded into a look of confusion however when she saw the CD title. "Inside In/Inside Out". Quinn tilted her head to the side slightly. "You like The Kooks?"

Rachel glanced at Quinn's expression before quirking an eyebrow "I could ask you the same thing, considering the fact that when I walked by the cheerleader's table the other day you were all gushing about some singer's abs, I didn't have you down as the type of girl who'd listen to an indie pop/rock band that consists of lanky British men with bushy hair."

Quinn shyly smiled and slipped the CD in, shaking her head slightly. "I'm not really like that. I don't listen to bands for their abs, I listen for their talent but in the position I live in, it's hard to be myself all of the time. Well, any of the time. I don't like being like that. I hate it." The blonde ducked her head; she didn't want to see the Diva's reaction to her admission. Quinn never talked about this kind of thing, with anyone, let alone a girl she used to torture for being different. She wasn't sure why but she felt like she had to tell Rachel these things, she had to let the Brunette see the real Quinn Fabray. The thought terrified her.

Rachel took note of Quinn's awkward stance and decided not to push the issue at this moment in time, it could wait until they got to the Berry household, she saw traces of the terrified girl she had seen in the school bathroom mere minutes ago, she loved the fact that Quinn was being open with her but loathed the fact that the girl was so broken looking beside her now, her smug smile faded, the playful mischief leaving her hazel eyes. It killed Rachel. The thought that the girl was this damaged, physically pained her.

Knocking herself from her thoughts, the brunette reached out and switched to CD track, glancing at Quinn as she did so, the diva's heart clenched in her chest. The girl had her head down, hair falling into her eyes, her perfect pony tail now dishevelled; Rachel noted the look of concentration on the girls face. Frowning slightly, she began to move her hand towards Quinn, balancing her gaze between the road and the blonde across from her, finally laying her hand on the other girl's knee and squeezing it gently.

"Huh, what, wha…?" Quinn shot up from her trance almost immediately, taking a minute to adjust to her settings, her eyes fall to the hand lying lightly on her knee. _Snap out of it Fabray! _

"She's alive!" Rachel flashed one of her million dollar smiles at the now alert girl, trying to lighten the mood in an attempt to delay the inevitable uncomfortable ness that the blonde would soon feel when they sat down to talk about the last few hours. Rachel flinched at the thought. The idea of Quinn hurting herself was horrifying to the Diva, it made her want to hold the blonde against her and never let go. She couldn't imagine Quinn taking it that well though, scars or not, Rachel guessed that she was still the same old independent, proud, stubborn Quinn Fabray.

"Sorry, I sort of zoned out. Hey, do you mind if I switch tracks?" The girl's voice was a tad higher than usual, Rachel suddenly blushed as she realised that she still had her hand casually lying on Quinn's leg, her thumb drawing patterns over the clothed skin. The brunette quickly pulled back her hand and replied with a somewhat chocked "Yea, no problem", before letting her hair fall around her face to cover her ever growing blush.

Quinn cursed herself and her emotions. _No! C'mon, nice, warm, hand. Come back! PLEASE?" _

The blonde stared after the source of comfort as Rachel retracted the limb, willing it to move back into its previous position, her face contorting into an annoyed glare at the realization that the Diva showed no signs of moving back towards her. _Dammit._

The girl began switching tracks, partly to distract herself from the lack of contact and partly because she hadn't heard this song in a very long time. The tension surrounding the blonde began to fade as she heard the notes of the opening song, lying back into her seat, what she was not expecting to hear upon doing so however, was the voice of one miss Rachel Berry singing along, quietly, most people wouldn't have heard her but Quinn could spot the other girl's voice from a mile away.

A timid smile began to spread to her lips as she heard the Diva quietly run through the words; Quinn honestly thought nothing was as perfect in the world when Rachel Berry sang.

So at my show on Monday,  
>I was told that someday,<br>You'd be on your way to better things,  
>It's not about your make-up,<br>Or how you try to shape up,  
>To these tiresome paper dreams,<br>Paper dreams honey

Quinn watched the girl intently, taking in her slight movements, the way her eyes lit up with the words, it was stunning, it was also incredibly infectious, by the end of the first verse, there were two voices filling the car, Quinn's soft voice blending in perfectly with Rachel's stronger tone, the two actually worked well.

So now you pour your heart out,  
>You're telling me you're far out,<br>You're all about to lie down for your cause,  
>But you don't pull my strings,<br>Cause I'm a better man,  
>Moving on to better things<p>

Rachel beamed upon hearing to quiet voice of the blonde beside her, Rachel knew that technically the girl didn't have the best voice but there was something about it that completely enthralled the Diva, if she was honest, Rachel would sit and listen to Quinn sing for hours on end.

Dragging her eyes back to the road, Rachel saw her house in the distance, the fact that she would have to leave this perfect little bubble with Quinn terrified her but it had to be done, it was necessary but only after she got to hear Quinn sing the chorus, she thought to herself wryly, slowing down the pace of the car to stall they're arrival.

But uh oh, I love her because,  
>She moves in her own way,<br>But uh oh, she came to my show,  
>Just to hear about my day<p>

Rachel pulled into the drive just as Quinn had finished the last note, stopping the engine and turning around to the other girl.

The blonde had her gaze fixed on the building in front of her, taking in it's intricate details.

"What, not what you were expecting?" The Diva smiled slightly as the other girl twisted around to answer her question.

"Honestly? It's exactly what I was expecting."

"Really? Most people expect a shining pink castle decorated with unicorns and pride flags, perhaps that's just the small town Ohio mindset, two Gay dads must equal an incredibly camp house."

Quinn laughed slightly before shaking her head at Rachel's bluntness.

"Hmmm, well, that was my second choice but I don't know, I'd imagine if you were seen as different your entire life, you'd like to at least be traditional in some senses, if only to show that you're equal, so the stunningly white, not too big, not too small, white picket house seems pretty plausible to me."

The blonde finished off her explanation and looked at the Diva, who happened to be staring at her, head tilted slightly to the side, a small smile playing on her lips and I mildly surprised expression.

"Wha…what'd I do? Why are you looking at me like that? _Does she know? I just went on a big gay rant. A big, gay rant. Stupid Quinn. Stupid. Stupid._

"It's nothing… it's just, you're so different. Here. It's like you can actually breathe. It's sort of mystifying. In school you're so hell bent on being in control, on top, all of the time, I never see you screw up or act like a normal teenager. It's very… pleasant, to see you act this way, opinionated, quirky, sarcastic, I like it." The Diva finished with an almost shy smile.

Quinn inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. _She likes "it". So that sort of means she likes me? This version of me? Dammit Fabray, why do you have versions? Normal people don't have versions. _

"Uhm, thank you? I think?" Quinn tilted her head to the side and cocked an eyebrow, her face covered in confusion, her facial expression perhaps intensifying as she heard something she wasn't expecting, the small Diva across from her laughing, loudly. Quinn didn't know whether to join in or run. She thought of that a lot, running.

_That sort of makes me crazy, right? _

Quinn mentally shook herself and stared at the girl across from her. _She's pretty when she laughs. She's pretty all the time, actually. _

"What's so funny?" Quinn finally managed to form a sentence after staring at the other girl for what felt like an hour.

Rachel began to reply, still chuckling lightly, he words falling between breathy laughs before she finally composed herself, though still smiling. "I… I'm I… I mean, I apologize, it's just that, the whole tilting of the head and raising the eyebrow thing, it's possibly the first time I've ever seen you looking completely… Un-Quinn Fabray-ish. What I mean is, well, you sort of look like a puppy. A very blonde, very confused and very adorable puppy. I'm really, very sorry, I know, it sounds crazy but you just keep doing these things, little things that are completely the opposite of what you usually are and I can't but find it incredibly odd. Odd and brilliant…. And puppy-like." Rachel looked up and seemed relieved to see that the blonde didn't seem offended, honestly, she wasn't expecting a positive response but yet again, the Quinn Fabray sat, smiling, surprising her again.

Quinn found herself beginning to grin throughout Rachel's rant. _She said I look "adorable". Puppies are cute, right? People like puppies. I could live with that. Screw it, maybe I should just become a puppy. Rachel could make me her pet. Her adorable pet. I have not issues with this. _

"If anyone one else on this planet said that, anyone, at all, I would probably have kicked their ass by now or set the jocks loose on them but because it is you, Rachel Barbra Berry, Diva extraordinaire and known animal lover, I have only one word for you…"

Rachel inhaled, maybe the girl wasn't that happy after all, she awaited the backlash that she was bound to receive. The Diva only allowed her self to exhale as she yet again burst out laughing upon hearing the Cheerio's word.

"Woof."

Quinn had somehow managed to re create her adorable puppy face and make it even more heart melting, this time letting the "woof" leave her lips in a shockingly similar tone to that of a puppy.

The two girls sat laughing in Quinn's car, it was almost as though the two had completely forgotten about the earlier occurrences which led them into their current situation, they stayed like that for a another few minutes, laughing and arguing over their animal equals, it was decided that Quinn was too cat like to truly become a puppy, with her "stunning gold eyes", (Quinn blushed madly at this statement.) and sly nature, it was eventually decided that she would be a Lion cub if she were to suddenly transfer into animal form, elegant yet playful. Rachel's animal spirit was a little harder to place. Quinn deliberately started naming odd animals to annoy the Diva.

"Hmmm, Lama?"

"Quinn Fabray! Why on earth would I be a lama, have you seen Lamas? My neck is not that large!"

"Black widow?"

"I am not even dignifying that with a response as it is an insect, Fabray and I thought you were smart."

"Bat?"

This time Rachel merely glared at her.

Quinn finally softened her gaze and began to contemplate what the diva's real animal was. Her face, yet again morphing into one of concentration, the blonde almost lost her train of thought as she saw the Diva's lips quirk upwards, examining the Cherrio's facial expression. _Damn Diva's and their pretty smiles. _

"I'm not the puppy, at all, you're the puppy. Small, energetic, loud, oh, don't look at me like that, you know you are, loyal, maybe a little competitive, stubborn, smart, little bit of a temper and overall, loveable." Quinn faltered at the last word, not really meaning to say it out loud.

Her mind began to ease as she saw the Diva smile. It wasn't Rachel's usual, perfect teeth, face splitting, smile. It was calm, delicate almost. Her light lips turned up slowly, quirking more so on one side that the other. The smile came upon her with ease. It was breathtaking.

"I think… I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Anyone had ever said to me." Rachel's voice was as delicate as her smile.

Quinn didn't know how to respond, she was clueless. Her mind couldn't find or form words. She didn't have long to think though as Rachel took a deep breath and bagan to speak, her voice now wary, anxious.

"Quinn, we should go inside. I think we should talk now. Properly."

The Cherrio audibly gulped, her eyes yet again catching the diva's, she began to nod her head, still trying to process what had and what was about to take place.

"Yes, maybe we should."


End file.
